Is endless retail politicking how WY Dems can win statewide?

[MT Treasurer]

It worked for Ed Rendell in Pennsylvania in 2002, and Democrats sure as hell don’t need to shake as many hands in WY as in PA to win.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Pennsylvania_gubernatorial_election#Campaign

[Technocracy Timmy]

As long as they’re a fiscally populist and socially conservative Democrat with a cowboy hat they’ll win.

[Xing]

Considering that there are mainly just cows and bison to persuade in Wyoming, I'm sure a super #populist WWC farmer with a neat haircut could pull it off.

[Tartarus Sauce]

Considering that there are mainly just cows and bison to persuade in Wyoming, I'm sure a super #populist WWC farmer with a neat haircut could pull it off.

Actually, why not just run a bison? Seriously, turn a Yellowstone Bison into a viral social media candidate and put them on the ticket for the Dems. I'm not even joking, I'm curious to know how Buffalo Bart would perform.

[Roll Roons]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

[MT Treasurer]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

2002 was funny. Republicans won HI, NY, MN, MD while losing TN, OK, WY, KS, AZ, WI.

[smoltchanov]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

Generally - yes. And Republicans were considerbly more moderate then (otherwise - they wouldn't win CT, HI and NY). Now it's all polarized and boring.

[Epaminondas]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

Says the guy who would follow a conman from the New York coastal elite off a cliff.

Perhaps you should revisit your visceral and incorrect definition of elitism is - hint: tax cuts for the rich are, universal healthcare ain't.

[brucejoel99]

No, but I think there's an argument to be made that endless retail politicking is how the CA GOP can win statewide again. Don't ask me why, though.


/s (if it wasn't obvious)

[Roll Roons]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

Says the guy who would follow a conman from the New York coastal elite off a cliff.

Perhaps you should revisit your visceral and incorrect definition of elitism is - hint: tax cuts for the rich are, universal healthcare ain't.

For starters, I'm not a Trump supporter, and didn't vote for him. Also, It's a fact that the Democrats have generally become a much more coastal party in the past few years. Of the top five presidential contenders, three are from the Northeast, one is from California, and the fifth is the mayor of a blue college town - hardly representative of Indiana. Fifteen years ago, the top House Democrat was from St. Louis, and the top Senate Democrat was from South Dakota. Now, they're from San Francisco and New York. That should tell you something.

Also, why are you resurrecting such an old thread?

[Senator Incitatus]

I'm still mystified at the fact that a Democrat got elected governor there in 2002, and then got reelected in a landslide in 2006. Not just Wyoming, but also Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kansas (presumably without Brownback or Kobach). What was the deal with that? Were the Democrats that much less elitist/coastal then?

Says the guy who would follow a conman from the New York coastal elite off a cliff.

Perhaps you should revisit your visceral and incorrect definition of elitism is - hint: tax cuts for the rich are, universal healthcare ain't.

For starters, I'm not a Trump supporter, and didn't vote for him. Also, It's a fact that the Democrats have generally become a much more coastal party in the past few years. Of the top five presidential contenders, three are from the Northeast, one is from California, and the fifth is the mayor of a blue college town - hardly representative of Indiana. Fifteen years ago, the top House Democrat was from St. Louis, and the top Senate Democrat was from South Dakota. Now, they're from San Francisco and New York. That should tell you something.

Also, why are you resurrecting such an old thread?

Don't blame this poster, who clearly got lost and confused because Atlas does not have a New Posts feature.

[We Live in Black and White]

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Alternatively, the Front Range urban corrdor might just sprawl accross the border and flip the state.

[Tartarus Sauce]

The real key to Dems winning statewide, of course, is to simply import half a million liberal Californians and change the state's politics overnight.

[Epaminondas]

Don't blame this poster, who clearly got lost and confused because Atlas does not have a New Posts feature.

Turns out the Atlas does have New Posts (https://uselectionatlas.org/FORUM/index.php?action=recent), but it's laughably impractical.

For starters, I'm not a Trump supporter, and didn't vote for him. Also, It's a fact that the Democrats have generally become a much more coastal party in the past few years.

You may not be a Trumpeter, but you side-stepped the issue (incorrectly using "elitism" as a snarky blanket insult) like the slimiest of Republicans.

[Epaminondas]

The real key to Dems winning statewide, of course, is to simply import half a million liberal Californians and change the state's politics overnight.

I expectantly await the news that Google or Apple will sett up a large plant in Cheyenne. 100,000 out-of-state workers over a decade, splitting 70-30, would all but erase the GOP edge and significantly reduce GOP appetite for gridlock by depriving them of safe seats.

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

[Person Man]

The real key to Dems winning statewide, of course, is to simply import half a million liberal Californians and change the state's politics overnight.

I expectantly await the news that Google or Apple will sett up a large plant in Cheyenne. 100,000 out-of-state workers over a decade, splitting 70-30, would all but erase the GOP edge and significantly reduce GOP appetite for gridlock by depriving them of safe seats.

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

A lot of people in my University department would like that. A few mid sized companies have come to the region who grossly underpay. The department head keeps trying to talk up how cheap power is and how much land is here. I think they had Microsoft build a server farm in Cheyenne? The Department of Commerce built a supercomputer named Yellowstone in Cheyenne here, too. That was 7 years ago. I was part of a team that tried to run code on it.

[We Live in Black and White]

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

See, Freudenthal was never exactly meant to happen. He only ever entered office because his opponent in 2002, Eli Bebout (Speaker of the Wyoming House at the time and Wyoming Senate President up until this year), is and always will be just about the biggest godforsaken a**hole in the Mountain West and plumbed the gutter trying to attack Freudenthal in spite of being a good fifty points ahead of him. When his son suggested to the arresting officer at his DUI literally the day before the election that Bebout would have the officer fired as soon as he became Governor, it basically sealed the coffin on Bebout's gubernatorial aspirations.

So, long story short, Freudenthal was a happy accident who just so happened to be an almost mythically-competent governor during his eight years in office. He had a good brand during his run and made it almost impossible to beat certain Democratic incumbents (namely the ones representing my neck of the woods in Rock Springs and Green River), but his statewide pull was limited to being able to personally appeal to a state full of people who - while much less polarized and militaristic than they are today - otherwise had no time of day for the Democratic Party and were guaranteed to vote against them in every other capacity. So essentially, Freudenthal's power was less a wide-reaching statewide force and more of a personal brand backed up by a less-militaristic national political climate.

Now, to answer your other question, it's more infuriating than anything. Trump openly expressed contempt for Wyoming during the 2016 primaries (a huge part of why he came in an extremely distant third to Cruz and Rubio) and yet people here will defend him to the death. It plays into my overall frustration that the good citizens of Wyoming will vote for anything with an R by its name in spite of the GOP categorically f**king this state into the dirt and turning it into More Western West Virginia since Freudenthal left office.

[Person Man]

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

See, Freudenthal was never exactly meant to happen. He only ever entered office because his opponent in 2002, Eli Bebout (Speaker of the Wyoming House at the time and Wyoming Senate President up until this year), is and always will be just about the biggest godforsaken a**hole in the Mountain West and plumbed the gutter trying to attack Freudenthal in spite of being a good fifty points ahead of him. When his son suggested to the arresting officer at his DUI literally the day before the election that Bebout would have the officer fired as soon as he became Governor, it basically sealed the coffin on Bebout's gubernatorial aspirations.

So, long story short, Freudenthal was a happy accident who just so happened to be an almost mythically-competent governor during his eight years in office. He had a good brand during his run and made it almost impossible to beat certain Democratic incumbents (namely the ones representing my neck of the woods in Rock Springs and Green River), but his statewide pull was limited to being able to personally appeal to a state full of people who - while much less polarized and militaristic than they are today - otherwise had no time of day for the Democratic Party and were guaranteed to vote against them in every other capacity. So essentially, Freudenthal's power was less a wide-reaching statewide force and more of a personal brand backed up by a less-militaristic national political climate.

Now, to answer your other question, it's more infuriating than anything. Trump openly expressed contempt for Wyoming during the 2016 primaries (a huge part of why he came in an extremely distant third to Cruz and Rubio) and yet people here will defend him to the death. It plays into my overall frustration that the good citizens of Wyoming will vote for anything with an R by its name in spite of the GOP categorically f**king this state into the dirt and turning it into More Western West Virginia since Freudenthal left office.

Its like what I heard what "won" the debate for Cubin in 1994. All she had to say is that "I am the most "conservative" one here".

Although with all this polarization going on if there is increased demand to pass the type of legislation that Wyoming has been very reluctant to do.

[Epaminondas]

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

See, Freudenthal was never exactly meant to happen. He only ever entered office because his opponent in 2002, Eli Bebout (Speaker of the Wyoming House at the time and Wyoming Senate President up until this year), is and always will be just about the biggest godforsaken a**hole in the Mountain West and plumbed the gutter trying to attack Freudenthal in spite of being a good fifty points ahead of him. When his son suggested to the arresting officer at his DUI literally the day before the election that Bebout would have the officer fired as soon as he became Governor, it basically sealed the coffin on Bebout's gubernatorial aspirations.

So, long story short, Freudenthal was a happy accident who just so happened to be an almost mythically-competent governor during his eight years in office. He had a good brand during his run and made it almost impossible to beat certain Democratic incumbents (namely the ones representing my neck of the woods in Rock Springs and Green River), but his statewide pull was limited to being able to personally appeal to a state full of people who - while much less polarized and militaristic than they are today - otherwise had no time of day for the Democratic Party and were guaranteed to vote against them in every other capacity. So essentially, Freudenthal's power was less a wide-reaching statewide force and more of a personal brand backed up by a less-militaristic national political climate.

Now, to answer your other question, it's more infuriating than anything. Trump openly expressed contempt for Wyoming during the 2016 primaries (a huge part of why he came in an extremely distant third to Cruz and Rubio) and yet people here will defend him to the death. It plays into my overall frustration that the good citizens of Wyoming will vote for anything with an R by its name in spite of the GOP categorically f**king this state into the dirt and turning it into More Western West Virginia since Freudenthal left office.

Thank you for your insightful post. Wyoming is a fascinating state, and I wish I could have popped over while I resided in Great Falls. But I couldn't muster the strength to drive 20 hours over a week-end...

Has Freudenthal expressed any interest in running again? Would he stand a chance in 2022 or is the GOP ill-deserved stranglehold over minds and hearts too strong to shake today?

Also, is it correct that he could not legally nominate a Democrat to Craig Thomas' vacated Senate seat in 2007?

[We Live in Black and White]

In the Trump era, does it feel odd that everyone around you voted for him? And is there no goodwill left by Freudenthal towards the Democratic Party?

See, Freudenthal was never exactly meant to happen. He only ever entered office because his opponent in 2002, Eli Bebout (Speaker of the Wyoming House at the time and Wyoming Senate President up until this year), is and always will be just about the biggest godforsaken a**hole in the Mountain West and plumbed the gutter trying to attack Freudenthal in spite of being a good fifty points ahead of him. When his son suggested to the arresting officer at his DUI literally the day before the election that Bebout would have the officer fired as soon as he became Governor, it basically sealed the coffin on Bebout's gubernatorial aspirations.

So, long story short, Freudenthal was a happy accident who just so happened to be an almost mythically-competent governor during his eight years in office. He had a good brand during his run and made it almost impossible to beat certain Democratic incumbents (namely the ones representing my neck of the woods in Rock Springs and Green River), but his statewide pull was limited to being able to personally appeal to a state full of people who - while much less polarized and militaristic than they are today - otherwise had no time of day for the Democratic Party and were guaranteed to vote against them in every other capacity. So essentially, Freudenthal's power was less a wide-reaching statewide force and more of a personal brand backed up by a less-militaristic national political climate.

Now, to answer your other question, it's more infuriating than anything. Trump openly expressed contempt for Wyoming during the 2016 primaries (a huge part of why he came in an extremely distant third to Cruz and Rubio) and yet people here will defend him to the death. It plays into my overall frustration that the good citizens of Wyoming will vote for anything with an R by its name in spite of the GOP categorically f**king this state into the dirt and turning it into More Western West Virginia since Freudenthal left office.

That is a great post, thanks. Wyoming is a fascinating state, and I wish I could have popped over while I resided in Montana. But those distances are impossibly long.

Has Freudenthal expressed any interest in running again? Would he stand a chance in 2022 or is the GOP ill-deserved stranglehold over minds and hearts too strong to shake today?

Also, is it correct that he could not legally nominate a Democrat to Craig Thomas' vacated Senate seat in 2007?

The idea has been floated, but I think Freudenthal is comfortable in his retirement. It's all the same, because I doubt if he could win anything except maybe governor in the current environment, provided he could go to court to overturn our badly-written term limit law, and I only include that exception because Mark Gordon has turned out to be an ill-tempered, misogynistic court jester in just a few months in office.

Also, that's correct. Wyoming law stipulates that a Senate vacancy must be filled by a replacement of the vacating Senator's party, meaning that - hypothetically - a Republican governor would also have no choice but to replace a Democrat with a Democrat.

[Badger]

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

Obviously even then it would take a great deal more, though, right?

So what is the closest Statewide election since 2006 anyway? The newer the better so it could at least give a rough road map as to what county my County benchmarks Democrats would have to hit to win a Statewide race in the 2020s. Most of the Statewide races I've heard of in recent years have been such blowouts that it's tough to even envision such a road map.

[RI]

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

Obviously even then it would take a great deal more, though, right?

Going off the 2018 Senate race, one of the closer in the last decade not involving conservative write-ins, giving 100% of Laramie, Albany, and Teton Counties votes to the Dems would still leave them about 10,000 votes short. So yes, the Dems can't solely rely on their strongholds to take the state.

[We Live in Black and White]

Speaking as someone living here: kind of. The key to finally turning Wyoming back is to promote growth and turnout in Jackson and Laramie while continuing to bluify Cheyenne, and retail politics would inevitably be a part of that. In other words, it's a matter of playing the long, long, long game.

Obviously even then it would take a great deal more, though, right?

Definitely, but the state party is hosed forever without those strongholds. If I were to cobble together a winning strategy, it would incorporate doing the things I mentioned above, plus planting seeds in Casper and keeping turnout on the Wind River Reservation up, in addition to trying to keep the ancestral Democrats in Sweetwater County in the coalition while building up the college base here. I'd also invest in a lot of bench-building.